Lawn_Care

LAWN CARE
PROFESSIONAL LAWN CARE
FOR YOUR HOME
BY YOU!
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Table Of Contents
Introduction 3
Starting from Scratch 4
Grass Varieties 6
Best for Shady Areas 7
Best for Hot Climates 7
Best for Cold Climates 8
Best for Drought Resistance 8
Best for High Use/Traffic Areas 9
Best for Low Maintenance Needs 9
Considerations for Shady Areas 10
Planting the Seeds 11
Planting an Existing Lawn 11
Planting a New Lawn 13
Watering 13
Fertilizing 14
Weed Control 17
Crabgrass 19
Bentgrass 20
Dandelions 21
Ground Ivy 23
Moss 24
Mushrooms 25
Bermuda 26
Chickweed 27
Dallis Grass 28
Plantain 29
Patch Diseases 30
Aerating Your Lawn 33
Choosing a Mower 34
Reel Mowers 34
Electric Mowers 35
Mulching Mowers 36
Rotary Mowers 37
Mowing the Lawn 38
Grass Clippings – Keep or Toss 41
Leaf Removal 42
Caring for Your Mower 42
Tuning It Up 43
Winterizing 46
Landscaping 47
Building a Waterfall 55
Conclusion 60
INTRODUCTION
Men have had fights over it. It’s a battle of suburbia that has
yet to be won. They all compete for the coveted prize with the best
machines made by man. Lawn care has actually become a
competition these days. Do you want a lawn to make your neighbors
jealous for?
Lawns, yard, and grass: everyone has a name for that green
space, but what it really is, is your own little piece of the earth. You
own it, you take care of it, and you’re responsible for it. It needs you!
And, you need it.
Our lawns have become a major player in our eco-system, after
all it covers about 50 million acres in just America (2003 estimate).
That means what you do is multiplied thousands of times over, every
day in our country. So it's important that you do things right and stop
flying by the seat of your pants just because that's the way you've
always done it.
Besides keeping your house from sinking into some dark abyss,
your lawn is an important part of our environment. Environmentally,
turf grass reduces carbon dioxide emissions, mitigating the heat island
effect commonly found in our urban environments.
Lawns also reduce energy consumption through its cooling
effects and contribute to efforts to reduce global warming trends.
Grass reduces soil erosion by holding the soil in place during heavy
flooding. Just 2,500 square feet of lawn not only absorbs carbon
dioxide from the air, but it also releases enough oxygen for a family of
four to breathe.
It can say volumes about your pride as a homeowner. It can say
volumes about your lack of pride as a homeowner.
The truth is that if you live in a community that thrives on the
way houses look – ala Stepford – then lawn care is important to you!
But what the experts say is true: grass and lawns are an
important part of the environment. Let's face it: your turf grass, lawn,
yard, or whatever you want to call it, is pretty cool. Not only does
grass smell good when you mow it, but grass feels good to walk
across. My kids like playing on it, and my dogs definitely like it for
entirely different reasons. Grass looks pretty in the early morning with
the dew sparkling across it, or in the fall when the first frost settles in.
The only thing all that lovely lawn of green grass asks is a little
care, a little patience, and to be fed and groomed occasionally. Pretty
much what your kids expect, except you'll never have to set up a
college fund for your grass.
Believe it or not, some people feel that a beautifully manicured
lawn is a hazard to the environment. They feel they are unhealthy
habitats that consume not only time, but also precious resources
In actuality, a well manicured and well taken care of lawn can
actually be a thriving eco-system that can help all sorts of living things
thrive and grow. But this book isn’t really about that part of keeping a
great lawn.
What we hope to do in this book is to help you realize your
dream of having a beautifully manicured lawn by using the techniques
and tricks that are used by professional landscapers.
Many times, there are people who believe that having a beautiful
lawn requires the use of harmful fertilizers and other components that
can damage the environment. The reality is that you can have a
beautiful lawn without harming the environment.
Once you learn all of the particulars, we’re pretty sure that you’ll
be amazed how you can achieve a beautiful front yard, back yard, and
side yard – a beautiful lawn that your neighbors will be envious of.
What do you really need? Well, we’re going to show you. How
do you take care of it? We’ll show you that too.
You can have a beautiful lawn and get rid of all the critiques
from those natural people. There are many, many ways to cultivate
and take care of your lawn without compromising on environmental
concerns or taking up a bunch of your time.
Experts agree that a great lawn can be a reality. How do you
achieve that? Read on, dear friend, read on!
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Just because it’s easier, let’s assume that you have no grass at
all or that your grass is mostly dead and you need to start from square
one. There are many, many people out there who have had their
homes built and now are faced with a patch of dirt where grass should
be.
If you’re like me, however, you may already have a lawn, but
there are many, many dead patches all around the yard that need
worked on. Well, we can work on that as well!
All you need to start with is a little grass seed and a little know
how!
There are literally hundreds of grass seeds to choose from when
you are trying to figure out what you want your yard to look like.
Believe it or not, all of these various grasses can make your lawn look
a different way.
What we’re trying to say is that grass isn’t just grass. There are
different colors of green, different ways the grass lays, different ways
the grass grows. Depending on what you’re looking for, choosing the
right grass for your lifestyle and preference can make all the difference
in having a lawn you can be proud of.
The first thing you need to do before choosing a grass seed is to
prepare the land. If you have a bare patch of land, all that entails is to
till up the area until you have a fine powder of dirt. Then till that area
again until the powder is even more powdery. Then you can be
assured you have a great place for your grass to grow!
What do you do, though, if you have patches that need to be
filled in? Actually, you need to do much the same thing. Till up each
piece of land until you have a very fine powder to work with.
In either situation, once you have the land tilled up, you’ll need
to add in a little bit of fertilizer to make the ground more receptive to
the seed it will be receiving. We’ll address specific fertilizers a little bit
later, but you need to find one that will help you achieve your desired
results.
Alright, you’ve got the ground prepared. Now what do you put
in it?
GRASS VARIETIES
You can’t just go to your local home improvement store and tell
the clerk you need some grass seed. Sorry, but the process is much
more involved than that!
How will you know which grass seed you need? Here are just a
few varieties. How would you make the choice?
Fescue
Bahia
Bluegrass
Bermuda
Zoysia
Bent Grass
Centipede
St. Augustine
And that’s just a few of the varieties out there. Would you know
which one you’d want to adorn your yard? Well, certainly not without
a little information!
As we said before, there are literally hundreds of different
varieties out there. How do you know which one is right for you?
Well, we can’t choose your grass seed, but we can tell you the
attributes of different varieties, and then you can choose for yourself!
First, though, consider what you’re looking for when it comes to
your lawn and how to care for it. Are you wondering which grass is
best for you? Here are a few considerations:
• Maintenance required: some grass species require more care
than other, high maintenance grasses.
• Climate conditions: most grasses have a preference for specific
climates such as humid, coastal, dry, and cool.
• Temperature tolerance: each grass performs better or worse
depending on the average temperature range during the growing
season.
• Drought resistance: some grass species are better suited
quickly recover after going dormant during extended
drought conditions.
• Shade adaptation: grass species are classified by how
much or how little sunlight they need to maintain their
health and vigor.
• Wear resistance: this is a measurement of how well a grass
species can recover from foot traffic.
Not every grass is good for every climate. Some species are
good for shade, others are good for cold climates and still others
perform better in extremely hot areas. The following is a list of the
best readily available grasses for specific adaptations.
Best for shady areas
Fine-leaf Fescue: (cool season) does not tolerate traffic, drought
resistant, shade tolerant. Some varieties are more disease resistant.
Tall Fescue: (transition zone) low maintenance that offers good
drought resistance and better tolerates light traffic.
Bahia Grass: (warm season) is low-growing, requiring less
maintenance, has a coarse texture, makes a thick turf that fends off
weeds.
St. Augustine Grass: (warm season) tough, vigorous, thick, weed-
blocking. Tolerates some shade, but requires frequent watering,
mowing and fertilizing. Standout varieties include Better Blue, Delmar,
Raleigh, and Seville.
Best in hot climates
Bahia Grass: (warm season) is low-growing, requiring less
maintenance, has a coarse texture, makes a thick turf that fends off
weeds.
Bermuda Grass: (warm season) fine texture that tolerates traffic.
Vigorous and tolerates drought and salt. Does not do well in shade and
tends to build up thatch. Standout varieties include: Cheyenne,
Patriot, Tifgreen, and Tifway II.
Seashore Paspalum: (warm season) tolerates sandy soil, salt, and
wet conditions. Holds up to drought and tolerates traffic.
St. Augustine Grass: (warm season) tough, vigorous, thick, weed-
blocking. Tolerates some shade, but requires frequent watering,
mowing and fertilizing. Standout varieties include Better Blue, Delmar,
Raleigh, and Seville.
Zoysiagrass: (warm season/transition zone) slow-growing, dense
grass, drought tolerant. Does better with frequent watering. Builds up
thatch. Standout varieties include: El Toro, Emerald, and Meyer.
Best in cold climates
Fine-leaf Fescue: (cool season) does not tolerate traffic, drought
resistant, shade tolerant. Some varieties are more disease resistant
(Aurora)
Kentucky Bluegrass: (cool season) most common cool season grass
and the hardiest for cold weather. Fine texture, fills in bare spots
quickly, requires more mowing, does not do well in shady areas and
does not tolerate salt. Standout varieties include Adelphi, Award,
Baron, Midnight, Nu Destiny and Touchdown.
Best for drought resistance
Tall Fescue: (transition zone) low maintenance that offers good
drought resistance and better tolerates light traffic. Standout varieties
include Arid and Jaguar 3.
Bahia Grass: (warm season) is low-growing, requiring less
maintenance, has a coarse texture, makes a thick turf that fends off
weeds.
Bermuda Grass: (warm season) fine texture that tolerates traffic.
Vigorous and tolerates drought and salt. Does not do well in shade and
tends to build up thatch. Standout varieties include: Cheyenne,
Patriot, Tifgreen, and Tifway II.
Buffalograss: (warm season) one of the few native North American
grasses, is drought tolerant, but doesn't hold up to traffic. Turns brown
when it gets hot and when it gets cold. Grows slowly.
Seashore Paspalum: (warm season) tolerates sandy soil, salt, and
wet conditions. Holds up to drought and tolerates traffic.
Zoysiagrass: (warm season/transition zone) slow-growing, dense
grass, drought tolerant. Does better with frequent watering. Builds up
thatch. Standout varieties include: El Toro, Emerald, and Meyer.
Best in high-use/traffic areas
Perennial Ryegrass: (cool season and over-seeding in warm season
areas) medium texture, handles traffic, handles drought conditions
without a lot of additional watering or fertilizer. This grass does not do
well in shade. It does mix well with other grass types.
Kentucky Bluegrass: (cool season) most common cool season grass
and the hardiest for cold weather. Fine texture, fills in bare spots
quickly, requires more mowing, does not do well in shady areas and
does not tolerate salt. Standout varieties include Adelphi, Award,
Baron, Midnight, Nu Destiny and Touchdown.
Bermuda Grass: (warm season) fine texture that tolerates traffic.
Vigorous and tolerates drought and salt. Does not do well in shade and
tends to build up thatch. Standout varieties include: Cheyenne,
Patriot, Tifgreen, and Tifway II.
Zoysiagrass: (warm season/transition zone) slow-growing, dense
grass, drought tolerant. This grass does better with frequent watering,
and builds up thatch. Standout varieties include: El Toro, Emerald, and
Meyer.
Best for low-maintenance requirements
Fine-leaf Fescue: (cool season) does not tolerate traffic, drought
resistant, shade tolerant. Some varieties are more disease resistant
(Aurora)
Tall Fescue: (transition zone) low maintenance that offers good
drought resistance and better tolerates light traffic. Standout varieties
include Arid and Jaguar 3.
Bahia Grass: (warm season) is low-growing, requiring less
maintenance, has a coarse texture, makes a thick turf that fends off
weeds.
Buffalograss: (warm season) one of the few native North American
grasses, is drought tolerant, but doesn't hold up to traffic. Turns brown
when it gets hot and when it gets cold. Grows slowly.
Centipedegrass: (warm season) coarse, fast-spreading, low growing
and requires little fertilizer. Is not drought resistant and may turn
brown in high heat. Outstanding varieties include Centennial, Oaklawn,
and Tifblair.
Growing In Shady Areas
What do you do if you have a shady area that needs grass?
Well, don’t fret! There are some types of grasses that are specifically
designed to thrive in shaded portions of your lawn. Try a fescue in this
case. However, you can still use general grass seeds as well in those
shady areas, but you have to care for it properly.
Here are some suggestions:
• Mow at the proper height and frequency for the type of grass.
• Water the grass deeply.
• Prune or thin nearby trees to permit more sunlight to the grass.
• Consider mulch or shade-tolerant ground covers for densely
shaded areas.
• If you have heavily shaded areas in your lawn where the grass is
thin, consult your lawn care specialist for recommendations on
improving the lawn.
To find out which of the above best-of-breed grasses will work
for you contact a local lawn care professional or contact your local
county extension service. They will be able to tell you through trial and
error which ones will work for your situation.
You also want to be careful about mixing different species
together. For example, Fine Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass are both
recommended for cold areas, but the two don't go well together in the
same lawn. Fine Fescue is a bunching grass, while Kentucky Bluegrass
is a spreading-type grass. You'll end up with clumps of fine fescue
growing up out of your Bluegrass lawn and it will look just bad.
So, make your choice and get ready to start! How?
PLANTING THE SEED
The way you plant your grass seed depends on what shape your
current lawn is in. You need to evaluate your situation and go from
there!
Seeding an Existing Lawn
Let’s say that you already have a lawn, but there are places that
need to be filled in and thickened up. Your best bet with this type of
lawn is to aerate it and over-seed.
An aerator is a machine that will poke a hole in the ground
(thousands of them actually) and remove a core of soil and leave it
laying on the surface. These are called core aerators. Some aerators
will simply push a spike into the ground creating a hole, this type is
not as good. Check with an equipment rental store to find an aerator
that will work for you.
To start with, mow your grass as low as you can safely, don't
throw rocks and dig dirt with the mower, but get it down to about 1"
high. This will stunt the grass and slow its growth allowing the new
grass that you will seed to get started with limited competition from
the existing grass.
After mowing take an aerator, and go over the entire lawn at
least twice. Depending on the model you use, the aerator will poke
holes every 2 to 8 inches apart. If you can look down at the lawn at
any point and not see spots that don't have holes larger than 6", you
are doing fine. If you have a spot larger than 6" without holes in it,
you won't have very much grass come up in that spot, so go over the
lawn as many times as it takes to be sure you have holes everywhere.
Once you’re done aerating, you will start spreading your seed,
but you need to accurately measure your lawn first. Everything you
do in lawn care depends on the measurement of your lawn, so do it
correctly the first time and write it down so you can refer back to it
whenever you need to.
The amount of seed you use is important. If you don't use
enough you won't get the desired results. Most professionals will use
350 pounds per acre for lawns. Divided out per thousand square feet
that is 8 pounds per thousand square feet.
Rent, buy, or borrow a seed spreader. This will make your job
much easier! Do not use your hand and just throw it around, you
won't get even coverage.
Spread the seed using half of the required amount spreading it
in one direction, use the other half spreading the opposite direction
creating a cross hatch pattern on the lawn. This way you are assured
of getting even coverage.
After spreading the seed take a drag of any type, a piece of
chain link fence, a board with a rope tied to it, or what ever you can
drag behind your mower. Drag the lawn, this will push and drag seed
into the holes you created and break up the little plugs of soil that the
aerator left on the ground, it will cover up most of the seed giving
much better germination and a thicker lawn.
Once you complete the dragging, spread a starter fertilizer. You
can actually do this first if you want to, it really doesn't matter. A
starter fertilizer has a higher middle number than first and last
numbers which means more phosphate.
You will need to put down 8 pounds per thousand square feet of
a 6-12-12 or 4 pounds per K of a 6-24-24. This will give the ground
the nutrients needed to germinate and start a turf lawn, thus the
name "starter fertilizer".
After about a month the new grass will start to yellow off some
or maybe turn pale green, this is showing you that it is time to fertilize
again. Apply 6# per K of 15-15-15 this will provide the nitrogen for
green and growth and phosphate and potash for root growth and
overall vigor.
After the grass is about 3 weeks old you should be able to start
mowing. Be sure to cut it high. Fertilizing will also need to be done on
a regular schedule. We’ll cover these issues in later chapters.
Seeding a New Lawn
If you have a new home and this is the first lawn a few things
are different. Mainly you will have to do clean up and get the proper
grade before working on seeding.
Once this is done you will have to till up the ground to make a
soft seed bed. After tilling fertilize, and seed just as described above
using the same amount of seed. Then, cover the entire lawn with
straw.
Shake out straw to cover approximately 50% of the soil from
view. After done you should be able to look down and still see about
half of the soil showing through the straw, no more. This equates to
about 100 bales per acre.
After you’re done laying down the straw it's time to start
watering. Soak the lawn until runoff the first watering, followed by
daily watering of sufficient length to keep the soil wet. If it dries out,
the seed won't germinate.
Another option for your new lawn is to buy patches of sod. Sod
can be a quick answer to aesthetic beauty, but be prepared to pay a
pretty penny for this choice.
There are two integral elements of growing and maintaining a
lush, green lawn. Those elements are watering and fertilizing.
WATERING YOUR LAWN
This is a very important part of lawn care. You won’t have that
beautiful carpet you desire in your yard if you don’t give it proper
watering on a regular basis. This schedule, of course, depends on the
climate in which you live.
Do some research on how much rainfall your area has gotten in
the past and how much is expected. The type of weather in your area
will determine what type of watering system will be best for you. If
you live in a dry climate, you may need an irrigation system or
automatic sprinkler system.
In fact, underground automatic sprinklers are the recommended
way to water lawns. When you have such a system, watering is done
when it needs it on a regular basis. You won’t have to mess with
hoses or wasting water since all watering is done with a time.
However, these types of systems are quite costly and just may not be
an option for you.
Most people will use commercial sprinklers that can be
purchased quite cheaply at any discount or home store. When you use
regular sprinklers, be sure to move them to different places in your
yard so that the entire lawn is watered evenly. If you don’t do this,
you will have some spots without water and your lawn will look
uneven.
Take care that you don’t over water. Over watering your lawn
causes more damage than a lack of water. That's because most turf
grasses can handle dry spells, but not flooding.
Most grasses require 1 - 1.5" of water per week. This is enough
water to moisten the soil to 4 - 6" below the surface for clay soils and
8 - 10" for sandy soils. Of course, natural rain will provide some of
your watering needs.
Don't guess at how much water your lawn is getting. For
measuring Mother Nature's contribution, invest in a rain gauge. If at
the end of the week she's contributed enough, hold off adding more. If
she comes up short, you'll want to add some supplemental watering.
Again, measure how much water your sprinkler is putting down.
You'll have to follow local regulations when there are watering
bans, but just remember that less water is acceptable and grass is a
very resilient plant. When the rains do return your lawn will come back
with a little encouragement on your part.
As a note, you can make a type of irrigation system on your own
for lawn watering by taking a simple garden hose and poking holes in
it at consistent intervals. Remember, though, that you’ll need to move
the hose periodically to insure consistent watering.
FERTILIZERS
Your lawn consists of thousands and thousands of tiny little
plants that group together closely to form patches of grass. Plants
need fertilizer to grow healthy. We know we need to fertilize our
garden and house plants, but often, the lawn is overlooked. A green
lawn needs food to grow and thrive.
Fertilizer is any material supplying one or more essential plant
nutrients. Most common turf grass fertilizers include nitrogen,
phosphorous and potassium, but they may also include other essential
mineral elements for turf grass growth.
Fertilizers do more than make your lawn green. They help the
grass grow too, but there’s a little more involved. Fertilizer will help
grass seed germinate quicker and get started out of the ground. After
the plants have established, fertilizer will make the grass thicker and
healthier.
The most common questions asked by homeowners regarding
fertilizers is how much and when. Generally speaking, most lawns will
need four applications of fertilizer per year.
Spread fertilizing out 60 days apart starting in early spring
approximately 30 days before the growing season starts in your area.
Continue fertilization through the growing season until fall. Spring
fertilizing gets the grass off to a fast start giving you that rich green
color everyone wants.
As in watering, you should avoid using too much fertilizer.
General guidelines should be included on the bag. Too much fertilizer
will cause excess growth, lead to fungus growth and weaken the grass.
What type of fertilizer should you use? Well, the answer
depends on your and your needs. However, there are two basic types:
complete and balanced.
Complete fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphorous and
potassium, but they may also include other essential minerals
elements for turf grass growth.
Complete fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphorous, and
potassium in the same product. If a fertilizer contains less than all
three elements it is referred to as an incomplete fertilizer. If urea, a
46-0-0 incomplete fertilizer, is used for every application through the
season, lower turf quality may result if other essential elements are
not being supplied by the soil.
Balanced fertilizers provide nutrients in a predetermined ratio
that best meets the plant's requirements for those elements. Turf
grasses require nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium in the
approximate ratio of 3-1-2, 4-1-2, or 8-1-3.
Remember that the right balanced fertilizer ratio will differ with
grass type, and is also influenced by soil levels of certain elements
You may want to get a slow-release fertilizer that lets their
nutrients out slowly over a period of time. These fertilizers are
commercially produced and available at most home stores.
Because these lawn fertilizers release their nutrients over time,
rather than all at once, you're essentially stretching out the feeding. As
nutrients are released, the root system of your grass fills in any bare
patches. This in itself promotes lawn weed control, depriving weed
seeds of a place to germinate.
Before buying these or any other lawn fertilizers, read the
instructions on the bag carefully (or ask someone at the store for
details). A particular product may not be suitable for your type of
grass. Likewise, when applying lawn fertilizers, follow directions
explicitly, concerning how much to apply, how often they should be
applied, and under what conditions they should be applied.
Lawn fertilizers are best applied with spreaders. Be advised not
to fill the applicator with the spreader parked on the lawn. Doing so
invites grass-burn, as you may accidentally discharge too much while
loading. Instead, fill the applicator somewhere else, then wheel the
spreader onto the lawn.
Many people are going green with their growing using chemical
free fertilizers and weed control. However, they don’t necessarily
provide you with an advantage when fertilizing your lawn and garden.
Plants absorb nutrients in the same way, whether the source be
organic or a conventional fertilizer. Turf grass roots will only absorb
dissolved nutrients found in the soil water. Organic fertilizers do not
offer any advantages to the care of your lawn. The choice is strictly
personal preference.
In addition, there are lawn fertilizers that promote lawn weed
control at the same time. Effective lawn weed control should, after all,
go hand-in-hand with the application of lawn fertilizers: if the weeds
suck up some of the nutrients that you're supplying, those are
nutrients being wasted, as they are not going to your grass.
Fortunately, applying lawn fertilizers and practicing weed control
can be integrated into the same chore – if you play your cards right!
WEED CONTROL
Unfortunately, there’s a lot more growing in your lawn than just
grass. Controlling weeds in a new or existing lawn is vital to the
health and overall appearance of the lawn.
A beautiful smooth lawn gets most of its good looks from the
fact that it is smooth and level with no weeds sticking up above the
turf. You have probably mowed your lawn before only to have
dandelions popping up above the grass a day later making it look like
you need to mow already.
A weed free lawn holds its good looks for several days if the
grass is a monoculture with uniform growing heights.
Weeds are really just one type of plant that
we have decided shouldn't be growing in one
particular place. It's your point of view as to
what makes a weed a weed.
Some weed-type plants are invasive and
fast growing. Their growth habit overtakes our
cultivated turf plants, depriving them of food and
water. Other weeds are extremely noxious and
cause problems for humans if they get close
them.
In the lawn, the most common weeds are just a nuisance. Most
don't cause skin reactions or breathing difficulties, they just don't look
good.
What they're also telling us is that the lawn isn't as healthy as it
should be. Turf grasses today are so adept at growing into thick
masses, that if maintained properly, weeds are not a problem. It is
when the lawn isn't as healthy as it could be that we see weeds
becoming a problem for the lawn.
There are three basic types of lawn weeds:
1. Grass Type Weeds
2. Grass-Like Weeds
3. Broad Leaf Weeds
Each of these requires a different method in order to control.
Experts agree that the best way to control weeds to to prevent them
from showing up in the first place. There are certain weed control
products on the market right now that can accomplish this.
They are called pre-emergent controls and should ideally be
applied in the spring. The soil's surface is covered with a microscopic
protective layer that prevents any germinating seeds from taking hold,
including crabgrass.
If left undisturbed, this protective layer will maintain its
defensive qualities throughout the prime germinating period. This is
when most weed seeds will normally start developing. Of course, there
is no 100% guarantee that additional seeds won't be carried in by
winds, birds, or any number of other methods.
Thoroughly read, understand, and follow all information on
herbicide labels. Avoid windy days, as these materials can damage
many landscape and garden plants if they drift (spray droplets land off
the lawn). Also avoid hot days (over 85 degrees F).
It's best to have adequate soil moisture, but no rain for 24 hours
after application. Don't mow for a few days before and after
application. Consider spot treating weeds rather than broadcasting
weed killer over the entire area.
Use caution on newly seeded areas; wait four mowings before
treating newly seeded lawns and 30 days before seeding areas treated
with broadleaf herbicides. Read the label regarding potential tree
damage when used on lawns growing over tree root zones.
To treat for weeds in your lawn, you have to understand the
type of weed that you have. Since different type weeds require
different types of treatment. We’ll go through some of the more
common types of weeds and give you some advice how to control
them.
Crabgrass
Crabgrass is the most common type of weed in lawns and it’s
nearly impossible to completely control this weed. Crabgrass is a
warm season annual grass which grows best in the heat of midsummer
when desirable lawn grasses are often semi-dormant and offer little or
no competition. Crabgrass over winters as seed, comes up about mid-
May or later, and is killed by the first hard frost in fall.
Crabgrass grows best in full sun. It does not grow in shady
places. It will come up in clumps and look markedly different from the
rest of the grass. As it grows older, it’s “arms” will flop over and
radiate out from the center covering the ground.
Crabgrass can be controlled in a number of ways, but the best
defense against crabgrass is a thick vigorously growing lawn that is
mowed no closer than 2-1/2" for cool season grasses. Use a bagger to
collect grass clippings while the weed’s seed heads are present.
However, you don’t want to have unsightly crab grass in your
lawn, so to gain control, do not apply fertilizer in summer and get a
post-emergent herbicide. This type of herbicide is applied after the
crabgrass has already sprouted.
Bentgrass
Bentgrass is a cool season perennial spreading grass that is
commonly used for golf course greens, tees, and fairways. For the
lawn owner, bentgrass is often considered a weed.
Bentgrass is not a viable option for a home lawn because it is
very expensive and difficult to cultivate and care for. It is
characterized as a very fine-textured, bright green grass with flat,
narrow leaves.
Unfortunately, there is no herbicide you can use to get rid of
bentgrass that won’t damage the lawn you are meaning to grow.
Patches of bentgrass will appear as fluffy, fine-textured clumps that
you can remove with a spade or by just pulling. When removing
bentgrass, do so about 1” into the ground and re-seed.
You can try a herbicide with glyphosate to remove bentgrass,
but be aware that it will kill the wanted grass along with the unwanted
grass. apply the herbicide to an area about six inches or so outside
the patch of Bentgrass to kill the individual stems which are creeping
outwards from the patch, otherwise, these patches will reemerge.
Apply glyphosate in spring or fall when the grasses are actively
growing. Wait approximately seven days, then reseed or sod the area.
If you decide to till the soil prior to establishment, and see bits of
Quackgrass rhizomes coming to the surface, remove these. Or wait
two weeks or so until enough new Quackgrass leaves emerge and kill
the new plants with a second application of glyphosate.
Dandelions
Most people are familiar with dandelions. They are a broad leaf
weed that begins with bright yellow flowers that eventually change
into a globe of fine filaments which are seeds that are distributed by
the wind. Who hasn’t blown a dandelion into the air?
Even though dandelions are considered a weed, they actually do
have some uses in both food and medicine. They are close in
character to mustard greens and are sometimes used in soups or
salads.
Dandelion root is a registered drug in Canada and is used as a
diuretic. It can also be used to treat anemia, jaundice, or to sooth
nervousness. And, of course, who hasn’t heard of dandelion wine?
If not effectively controlled, dandelions can quickly take over
your yard and kill off patches of grass as they rob the soil of water and
nutrients meant for the lawn. Simply picking or mowing over the
flowers won’t get rid of them.
Dandelions are best treated during active growing cycle with a
spot treatment. If you use a dry granular form of weed killer or a weed
and feed type of fertilizer, apply it to wet grass and weeds. The weed
control material must stick to the leaves of the weed plants to be
effective. If you spray a liquid, apply it only on a calm day so material
will not drift onto desirable plants.
Remember, broadleaf weed killers are broadleaf plant killers.
They do not, for example, differentiate between dandelions and
tomato plants. Apply them only to weeds in the lawn. Be careful not to
get the material onto desirable plants in your yard. Read and follow all
label directions.
Ground Ivy
This weed is a perennial with creeping stems that root at the
nodes and has foliage that emits a mint-like odor when mowed.
Ground ivy is primarily a weed of turf grass and landscapes
Ground ivy is hard to control because you can't pull it out easily
in lawns and many commercial broadleaf lawn weed killers have little
or no effect on it. The most common active ingredient in granular and
liquid broadleaf lawn weed killers is 2,4-D, but 2,4-D has little effect
on ground ivy.
Another common active ingredient, MCPP, or, mecoprop, also
has little effect on ground ivy. Dicamba is an active ingredient that
does control ground ivy. Dicamba is also called Banvel.
There are several lawn weed killer products available that
contain dicamba. Most of them also contain 2,4-D and MCPP. However,
you may still need to make repeat applications with dicamba-
containing products to completely control ground ivy. Ground ivy
spreads via creeping stems that propagate new plants.
Moss
Moss in a lawn is an indication that the turf is not growing well.
Moss doesn’t grow in healthy lawns. Lack of fertility, soil compaction,
poor drainage, shade and poor soil aeration are the most common
cause of moss in lawns.
It is important to consider that moss does not kill the grass; it
simply creates unfavorable growing conditions such as shade, poor
drainage, poor fertility or compacted soil. These conditions, not the
moss, ultimately cause the grass to die out.
If you want to eliminate moss from a lawn, focus on improving
conditions for growing grass, and don't worry about the moss -- it will
disappear on its own as the grass gains vigor.
Herbicides and chemical control have only short term effects on
moss. If herbicide use is not accompanied by proper environmental
and physical controls, then the initial effect will be bare dirt or mud.
Mosses will eventually return because the lawn deficiency, which led to
the moss invasion, still exists.
When herbicides alone are used, the symptoms, not the cause,
of a weedy lawn are being treated. Furthermore, many of the common
herbicides, such as glyphosate, are ineffective against mosses, at least
in some conditions. Therefore, if you perceive of the moss in your
lawn as a problem, improve conditions for growing grass, rather than
using herbicides.
Lime has often been suggested for moss control. Lime will raise
the soil pH but will do little or nothing to prevent moss growth. The
fact that the soil is acidic has little to do with the growth of moss. In
fact, you can see moss growing on limestone and concrete.
If your lawn area is moist and shady, you will have difficulty
controlling moss because you have an ideal environment for moss
growth. Moss is often troublesome in spring when temperatures are
cool and soil moisture high.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms, also called toadstools or puffballs, are fruiting
bodies of soil fungi. They appear in lawns during wet weather in spring
and summer. Mushrooms live on organic matter such as roots, stumps
and boards in the soil.
Most don't harm the lawn but are unsightly. Mushrooms that
grow in arcs or circles of dark green grass are called fairy rings. The
arcs or rings enlarge from 3" — 2' each season as the fungi grows
outward. The fairy ring fungus may interfere with water flow through
the soil and stress the lawn.
There is no chemical control for mushrooms. Time is the best
cure. Once the buried wood has completely decayed the mushrooms
will disappear. Break mushrooms with a garden rake or lawn mower
for temporary control. This helps to dry the mushrooms and reduces
the risk of children eating them. Control individual mushrooms by
removing the organic matter. Dig up and remove the wood. Fill and
reseed, or sod, as needed.
Bermuda
Bermuda grass is an annual, fine textured "creeping grass" that
grows and spreads rapidly during warm summer months. Similar to
bent grass, this type of seed is commonly used on golf courses and
sports fields.
Due to its rapid and sometimes widespread growth during warm
months, Bermuda can quickly take over cool-season grasses while
dormant. Herbicides are usually not as effective as simply hand-
picking these weeds before they grow out of control.
To help prevent this, you can apply a pre-emergence just prior
to its growing season (usually spring time) to prevent the seeds from
germinating. However, the other extreme is to apply fluazifopbutyl or
glyphosate to kill all of the grass, then reseed over it. This is only
suggested if you plan on replanting or renovating your lawn
afterwards.
Chickweed
Common chickweed (Stellaria media) is a matted, herbaceous,
winter annual broadleaf plant. Chickweed is a prolific spring weed as it
thrives under cool, wet conditions. It rarely tolerates hot, dry
conditions that occur in late spring or early summer. Other common
names for chickweed include starweed, winterweed, satin flower and
tongue grass.
Chickweed is more regarded as a weed than as a useful plant,
but has a place in folk medicine as a remedy for asthma, constipation,
cough, fever and various other ailments. The seed of chickweed is a
source of food for birds.
To remove chickweed, you’ll need to hoe or hand-pull the plants.
The top-growth is brittle and the roots are tenacious, so this will take
some effort.
Trace the stems back to the growing point and loosen the roots -
though being an annual these do not have to be completely removed,
just the growing point. Dispose of uprooted plants if flowers and seed
heads are present. Regular hoeing of the seedlings for a few seasons
reduces the frequency of germination.
As far as weed killers you can use, a residual herbicide can be
applied to suppress germination in non-cultivated areas. Look for the
ingredients Paraquat or Diquat, with contact action killing top growth.
Apply before flowering begins.
Dallis Grass
Dallis Grass is a broadleaf weed that closely resembles crab
grass. It is one of the most difficult to control weeds for lawn care.
Patches will appear in clumps with leaves that extend upright. Some
patches can grow quite large if left untended and can appear unsightly
in an otherwise beautiful lawn.
Dallis grass is a perennial grass with light-green color. Dallis is
easily identified by its long seed-heads that protrude from the top.
Dallis tends to thrive in wet areas with lots of heat, and grows in
circles out from the center of the weed.
Try to improve the drainage of your lawn to take dampness
away from the areas were they grow. Additionally, allow the top of the
soil to partially dry between each watering to help retain the water
only in the root area.
Apply pre-emergence fertilizers (usually in the late-spring ) to
prevent seed germination and growth. Once weeds are established,
pull them by hand and make sure you get the roots as well. After
pulling, reseed the area with the desired grass.
Plantain
Broadleaf plantain is a common broadleaf weed in lawns. It is
identified by oval leaf blades 2 – 6 inches long with 5 to 7 ribs that
that parallel the leaf margins. In turf grass they form dense clumps
No single procedure has been successful in controlling plantain in
turf grass. Early removal of new seedlings has been successful when
practiced diligently.
Digging out perennial plantain plants must be done regularly for
several years to be successful. Repeated applications to perennial
plants with products containing 2,4-D or triclopyr can be helpful. Once
these weeds are killed in open sites, these areas should be over-
seeded to establish a vigorous turf grass sod.
Pre-emergent turf grass herbicides commonly used for crabgrass
control have not been successful in limiting germination of plantain.
Isoxaben, a relatively new broadleaf pre-emergent herbicide, has been
effective in limiting germination of plantain in turf grass.
Post-emergent broadleaf herbicides (2,4-D, triclopyr, MCPA, and
mecoprop) can control plantain seedlings, but control of established
plantain plants with post-emergent treatment is much more difficult.
For established plants, 2,4-D works best while triclopyr, MCPA,
and mecoprop will only reduce its vigor. Best control is achieved from
a fall application. Repeat applications are needed to kill weakened
perennial weeds and new germinating seedlings.
See also removal instructions for dandelions as the removal of
the two are similar.
Establishing and maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn can be
a daunting task, but if you are committed to making your home look
good, it is essential that you pay attention to the quality of your lawn.
Certain types of grasses – the most commonly used, in fact –
are prone to patch diseases that can devastate the most carefully
groomed lawn.
PATCH DISEASES
Patch diseases will occasionally occur in bluegrass lawns. Areas
of turf die in patches, hence the name. Advanced stages of the disease
appear as rings of dead turf surrounding living turf that resembles a
"frog's eye". Researchers have identified several fungi that cause
patch-like symptoms.
Some of the more common patches include summer patch,
yellow patch and necrotic ring spot.
Necrotic ring spot and yellow patch are active during cool
weather in the spring and the fall, but patches may remain into the
summer months. Summer patch is active during the summer period.
Once established, these diseases are extremely difficult to control, and
tend to occur in following years.
Red thread and pink patch are diseases that attack Kentucky
bluegrass, fescues, rye grass, and bent grass. These diseases are
active during the cool, moist periods of the year, causing distinct-to-
irregular discolored patches to develop in lawns.
The leaves often become covered with a pink, fibrous growth. In
the final stage, reddish fungal threads are found at the leaf tips. In a
lawn infested with red thread or pink patch, pink areas from two to
fifteen inches in diameter become readily apparent.
These spots may join to form large areas of damaged turf. Areas
may turn brown and dry out. These diseases are most common under
the combination of prolonged periods of high humidity, temperatures
between 60?F to 75?F, and slow-growing, nitrogen-deficient turf.
To control red thread and pink patch,
• Mow and water correctly
• Maintain a sound fertilization program.
• For persistent problems, the lawn can be over-seeded with a
more resistant turf grass variety or species.
• If detected soon enough, fungicides can be applied for temporary
control of the disease.
Patch diseases can be very damaging to most cool-season turf
grasses. These diseases cause circular patches of dead turf, which may
surround turf that is still green. This "frog eye" symptom often occurs
with this group of diseases.
Patch diseases generally occur on sodded lawns, especially
within the first 5 years of establishment. However, older lawns either
established from seed or sod can also develop patch diseases.
Several fungi cause patch diseases. The actual fungal pathogen
will depend on the specific patch disease. The more commonly
occurring patch disease includes the following:
• Necrotic Ring Spot (Leptosphaeria Patch) - Leptosphaeria korrae.
• Summer Patch - Magnaporthe poae.
• Yellow Patch - Rhizoctonia cerealis.
These diseases can occur on several turf grasses, but are more
damaging to Kentucky Bluegrass. In the past, some of these diseases
may have been referred to as Fusarium Blight, but today are referred
to by their current names.
Initial symptoms appear as small spots (2 - 4" diameter) of light
green turf. Spots enlarge to form light straw colored circles, irregular
patches, and crescent patterns that are 1-2 feet in diameter.
Centers of the patches may contain grass that is alive or dead.
When dead, the patches of grass appear crater like or sunken. Patches
may overlap to form large areas of blighted turf. Symptoms may also
appear as diffused patterns of yellow or brown turf. Blackening of the
infected crowns, rhizomes, and roots is also characteristic. Yellow
patch on bent grass generally occurs as yellow rings that often
recover.
• Necrotic Ring Spot and Yellow Patch are favored by cool, wet
conditions, occurring primarily in the spring and fall.
• Summer Patch is favored by hot, humid conditions and occurs in
the summer.
• Identifying these diseases is difficult because the symptoms of
Necrotic Ring Spot and Yellow Patch are still present during the
summer, when Summer Patch is active.
Control of patch diseases is very difficult, and often
unsuccessful. Patch diseases are more damaging if the lawn is
improperly mowed and watered. Properly maintaining the turf will
reduce damage and help in control.
During turf establishment, good soil preparation and selection of
quality sod or seed are preventative measures. Core aeration to assist
in better turf grass rooting will help in preventing disease and aid in
recovery. Renovation of the diseased turf often is necessary.
Tips to help avoid patch diseases:
• Mow frequently at 2 1/2 to 3 inches in height.
• Irrigate properly.
• Keep thatch to a minimum.
• Reduce soil compaction by core aeration. (Wear golf shoes while
mowing!)
• Fungicides generally do not provide satisfactory control of patch
diseases.
Another good lawn practice is to have your lawn aerated
periodically.
AERATING YOUR LAWN
The basic idea behind lawn aeration is that, like you, your lawn
and the soil under it need to breathe. Providing much-needed lawn
aeration for your grass entails dealing with thatch. Soils can become
compacted in high-traffic areas or in areas that have mostly clay soils.
This can kill off grass very quickly.
Lawn thatch is the layer of dead turf grass tissue between the
green vegetation and the soil surface that must be removed (a process
known as "de-thatching") to maintain lawn health. Lawn thatch is
derived from stems, leaves, stolons, rhizomes and roots.
The build-up of lawn thatch makes it difficult for your lawn to
breathe. Lawn aeration performed in spring or fall helps control lawn
thatch. You should have your lawn aerated once a year.
The process of lawn aeration can be as simple as poking holes in
the soil throughout the lawn by walking over the lawn with spiked
shoes such as golf shoes. You should also faithfully remove as much
lawn thatch as you can in fall by raking deeply, rather than just
skimming the autumn leaves off the top of the lawn.
Lawn aeration also reduces soil compaction, allowing water and
fertilizer to permeate into the root zone. Grassy areas submitted to
constant foot traffic require lawn aeration more frequently.
Lawn aeration may be undertaken in the spring, as soon as the
soil has thawed. But for Northern lawns, the fall season is better suited
to lawn aeration. The ideal air temperature is around 60 degrees to
perform lawn aeration.
If the soil is severely compacted, simple lawn aeration methods
such as that mentioned above may not be sufficient. In such cases, go
to a rental center and rent a piece of equipment especially for lawn
aeration, called the "lawn aerator." This lawn aeration equipment will
pull "cores” or plugs of soil out of the ground, letting air in.
These plugs should be 2"-3" in depth. Such a plug should be
pulled out of the lawn at about every 3". The plug-removal process is
facilitated by watering the lawn the day before, but don't water to the
point of muddying the soil.
Likewise, if your thatch problem is severe (say, 3/4" thick or
more), rent a vertical mower from a rental center. If you don’t think
you can do this job yourself, there’s nothing wrong with hiring a lawn
service to aerate your lawn.
You also need to take care of your lawn properly when it gets too
long. Start with the right equipment.
CHOOSING A LAWN MOWER
You might think that lawn mowing would be a simple subject,
and basically it is. However, there are some things you need to know
about how to mow, when to mow, and what kind of lawn equipment
you’ll need.
There are all sorts of different lawn mowers on the market, you
might be a little confused as to which one you should get. Well, let’s
see!
Reel Mowers
The type of lawn mower that has become the standard is the
rotary lawn mower. But the first lawn mowers were not rotary
mowers, but rather reel lawn mowers. Edwin Budding invented the reel
lawn mower in 1830.
Unlike the rotary mowers you’re used to, reel lawn mowers don’t
have an engine, relying instead merely on sharp blades and the
muscle-power of the operator. Their blades also spin differently than
those of a rotary mower. While a rotary mower’s blades spin on a
plane parallel to the ground, the blades of a reel lawn mower spin at
an angle perpendicular to the ground.
The environmentally conscious extol reel lawn mowers as a
pollution-free alternative to gas-powered rotary mowers. Reel lawn
mowers offer many benefits in addition to being easy on the
environment, including benefits in safety, noise-level, maintenance
and cost.
Today’s reel lawn mowers are easier to use than older models,
because lightweight plastics and alloys incorporated into their
construction have made them easier to maneuver.
There are, however, some drawbacks to using reel lawn mowers.
Reel lawn mowers don’t chop up twigs as do rotary mowers. In fact,
twigs get stuck in the blades and you’ll have to remove them by hand.
Nor can reel lawn mowers be used in fall to shred leaves for the
compost pile.
Rotary mowers are also better at cutting tall grass, an important
consideration for those who don’t mow the lawn religiously. These
limitations argue that, for all but the most industrious and idealistic,
reel mowers may be most suitable for those who tend small urban
lots.
Electric Lawn Mowers
With more and more people becoming environmentally
conscious, many are turning to electric mowers for trimming their
lawns.
Dragging around the cords of corded electric lawn mowers is a
nuisance. It’s also potentially hazardous, with the potential of
accidentally running over the cord with the mower. Fortunately,
electric lawn mowers are no longer synonymous with cumbersome
cords.
The new cordless electric lawn mowers are safer and more
flexible. An added benefit is that they start with a switch, not a pull-
cord, facilitating startup. Cordless electric lawn mowers run on
rechargeable batteries. Not as quiet as reel lawn mowers, cordless
electric lawn mowers are still less noisy than gas-powered mowers.
Cordless mowers work best if your lawn is 1/3 of an acre or less,
and if you keep your lawn mowed regularly. They’re not effective for
larger lawns or for tall grass, since either condition puts a lot of strain
on the battery.
And pushing them up hills can put a lot of strain on the operator,
so make sure you purchase a self-propelled model. Cutting moist grass
also strains battery-powered mowers, although, technically, you
shouldn’t be mowing at all if your lawn isn’t dry.
Mulching Mowers
Usually, when we hear the term, "mulching," we think of
spreading mulch around by hand, using a shovel. But mulching
mowers give the term, "mulching" a new twist. “Mulching” lawn
mower is a bit of a misnomer. They don’t make mulch; if anything, the
product they leave behind is more “compost” than “mulch.”
The alternative to a mulching lawn mower is a lawn mower that
comes with a bag attachment to collect grass clippings. If you opt for
the latter, you should deposit the clippings into a compost pile, so as
to acquire free compost for the garden and avoid wasting community
landfill space.
The grass clippings left behind by a mulching mower essentially
function as a lawn fertilizer, as if you were applying compost to the
lawn. For this reason, it makes more sense for most urban and
suburban homeowners to use a mulching mower, rather than bagging
their grass clippings and dumping them in the compost pile.
Essentially, mulching lawn mowers eliminate the “middle-man,”
namely, the compost pile, instead providing you with compost directly.
This means less work for you.
Mulching lawn mowers are designed so as to leave behind finely
shredded grass clippings. Such clippings can be left on the lawn with
impunity. By contrast, because lawn mowers without mulching
capabilities produce clippings that are bulkier and readily mat
together, their clippings need to be removed from the lawn, so that
the grass doesn’t suffocate under them.
Rotary Mowers
What’s best will depend on your wants and needs. Gas-powered
rotary lawn mowers can be divided into two categories: walk-behind
rotary mowers and riding mowers / lawn tractors.
The walk-behind rotary lawn mowers can further be classified
according to whether they’re push-type lawn mowers or self-propelled.
Purchase price varies greatly between these types of rotary lawn
mowers, with riding mowers / lawn tractors being the most expensive,
followed by self-propelled mowers. The push-type mowers are the
least expensive because they require you to provide the muscle to
make them move.
Self-propelled rotary lawn mowers require the operator to
squeeze a bar to engage the mower, which causes the machine to take
off -- all you have to do is control the direction in which it goes. If you
release your grip on the bar, the mower blade stops spinning.
For the higher-end self-propelled rotary mowers, the drive
system does not shut off when you release the bar – a convenient
feature, in case you’d like to transport the lawn mower from point A to
point B without cutting grass along the way.
The difference between riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors
lies in the location of the cutting deck. Lawn tractors have a mid-
mounted cutting deck, while for riding lawn mowers the cutting deck is
located under the front of the vehicle. The front-end location of the
cutting deck on riding lawn mowers makes these machines more
maneuverable. Maneuverability becomes an issue when, for instance,
a lawn is dotted with shrubs and trees.
With both riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors you can make
use of accessories ranging from brushes for spring cleaning to snow-
removal attachments.
As with all lawn mowers, caution must be exercised when
operating riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors. While providing them
with a “vehicle” may seem like a great way to get the kids to mow the
lawn without complaining, only those mature enough to handle heavy
equipment should be allowed to operate riding lawn mowers and lawn
tractors.
Choose a mower that’s in your price range that meets the needs
and standards that you have assigned to it. Go for comfort, though –
in the long run, you’ll be glad you did!
Now that you’ve got the equipment, you’re ready to put it to
work!
MOWING THE LAWN
Proper mowing, along with proper watering, can be the most
critical factor in the appearance of a lawn. Good mowing techniques
not only enhance the appearance of the lawn, but also increase the
turf grass vigor.
There actually is a right and wrong time to mow. Most people
just look at their lawns and decide if it’s long enough to warrant a
mowing, but you are going for that professionally landscaped look, so
you need to pay heed to the expert’s advice.
Lawn mowing should not be done when the grass is wet (under
which conditions disease can be introduced, plus you incur the risk of
slipping and getting injured).
Also, lawn mowing in the evening puts less stress on the lawn
than lawn mowing when the sun is pounding down in the afternoon.
Mowing during the heat of the day during hot weather may cause the
lawn to brown. It is best to mow during the cooler part of the day.
Mowing frequency will change throughout the year with different
weather patterns. Cool season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass
may require mowing twice a week in the spring, but only every 7-10
days in the summer. Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass
may need more frequent mowing in the summer than in the fall or
spring.
Aesthetics aside, there's a good lawn-care reason not to wait
longer in between mowing, each time simply mowing the lawn when
the grass is higher and reducing the overall number of mowing. Sure,
such a policy would reduce time spent on lawn care. But you get out of
lawn care what you put into it.
It may come as a surprise that mowing the lawn is about more
than just keeping your lawn's height under control. If done properly,
mowing stimulates the grass of your lawn to lushness and better
health, just as pinching a garden plant can improve its appearance.
Proper mowing technique is an important aspect of overall lawn care.
So what is a proper mowing technique? Generally, you should
alternate the direction in which you mow each lawn mowing session.
You will thereby prevent your grass from "getting into a rut" (literally).
If your lawn mower wheels pass over the same area in the same
direction each time you mow, they'll form ruts over time. Switching
lawn mowing patterns also wisely avoids having the lawn mower blade
beating at the grass in the same direction at every mowing.
Novices will just set the mower at the lowest setting to cut the
grass as close to the ground as possible thus cutting down on the
frequency of needing to mow. This isn’t a good practice.
Certain grasses need to mown to a certain height to promote
growth and healthiness. A general rule of thumb for almost all grasses
is to mow to between 2 and 3 inches in height.
Height is important because the grass uses the extra length to
absorb the sunshine it needs to grow and develop into a healthy plant.
Never remove more than 1/3 at any one mowing. This may mean
you'll have to mow more often during prime growing times (usually
spring and early fall).
Turf grass stressed by mowing too low is more prone to disease,
weed invasion, drought and traffic stress. Removal of most of the leaf
blade limits food production. Limited food production decreases root,
thizome, and stolon growth. Plants with limited food production and a
limited root system will not have vigorous growth.
A vigorous, dense turf grass area is one of the best defenses
against weed invasion. Weak grass plants with a limited root system
are more prone to drought damage. It is particularly important to mow
high during dry weather. Mowing height varies for different turf grass
species:
Many turf grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass should be cut at 2
1/2 to 3 inches. Bentgrass and bermuda grass should be cut at 1 to 1
1/2 inches. Determine the type of turf grass in a lawn before
recommending mowing heights. The grass should be mowed so that
no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed. If the desired height is
3", mow the grass when it has grown to 4".
If you let the grass grow too long and then mow it too low,
scalping will occur on your lawn. When you do this, excess leaf blade
tissue is removed. Such "scalping" of the lawn can cause severe visual
damage.
More importantly, scalping shocks the grass plants and growth
slows or stops, limiting the vigor of the turf. A scalped lawn may dry
out quickly from drought, or may develop unusual weed and disease
problems.
You will also want to make sure your mower blades are sharp. A
dull mower blade shreds the tips of the grass blades. The shredding
opens the ends of the leaf blades for increased moisture loss and
potentially provides a site for disease invasion. Lawns cut with a dull
mower blade may have an overall white appearance from the shredded
grass blades.
If your lawn isn’t looking the way you envisioned it, take a good
look at how it is being mown. You’ll need to revise your mowing
practices if any of the following is present:
• Frayed grass blades
• Excess clumps of clippings
• Tall grass mowed short resulting in a yellow color
• Short grass with thin areas and weeds
So, that’s about it for mowing. However, you’re still left with all
those clippings after you’re done. What do you with all that?
GRASS CLIPPINGS – KEEP OR
TOSS
There are two schools of thought when it comes to this issue –
neither of which is definitive.
Some people say leave the clippings on the lawn after you mow.
This not only saves time and energy, but the clippings decompose
quickly and add vital nutrients back into the soil.
In fact, recycling grass clippings has recently taken on a
movement of its own. Proponents call this practice “grass-cycling” and
advocate that leaving those clipping where they lay saves time, landfill
space and nurtures the soil.
The Professional Lawn Care Association says that About 20
percent of all waste that goes into a landfill is landscape debris and
about half of that is simply grass clippings. With yard waste bans in
place in many areas of the country, “grass-cycling” offers you an
alternative, and at the same time increases the health and beauty of
your lawn.
Grass clippings are 85 percent water, decompose rapidly, and
return nutrients to the soil with no thatch buildup. They actually return
20 percent of their nitrogen to the soil to feed the lawn's root system.
And grass-cycling can be practiced year-round with most mowers.
On the other side of the spectrum, others say that leaving
clippings on your lawn is not only unsightly, but it can cause damage
to your lawn as well. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn becomes a
problem only if they are too thick. If you mow the lawn before it gets
overly tall, the mass of the grass clippings will not be sufficient to
warrant raking.
When cut grass lays in large clumps, it could be preventing the
grass below it from getting the sunshine and water that it needs to
grow. This could leave behind unsightly brown patches of dead grass.
A good way to obviate having to rake grass clippings is to mow
with mulching lawn mowers. When you have a mulching mower, the
clippings are gathered in a bag and can be used in compost piles for
fertilization.
Using mulching mowers can not only cut down on your yard
maintenance, but also makes your grass greener. Otherwise, you may
end up either raking or bagging your grass clippings -- which in turn
mean disposing of those grass clippings or recycling them - all of
which means extra work.
The bottom line is that as long as you are mowing on a regular
basis and you don’t leave behind clumps of clippings, it won’t cause
any harm leaving those clipping right where they are.
What about the leaves that cover your lawn in the fall?
LEAF REMOVAL
Fall leaf removal is not only necessary from an aesthetic
perspective but also from an agronomic perspective. Although turf
grass growth slows or ceases this time of the year, the plant will
continue to photosynthesize as long as the turf is green.
Energy in the form of carbohydrates captured and stored from
photosynthesis will go to enhance root growth and accumulate in the
storage compartments (nodes, crowns, etc) to be used the following
year. Leaves left on the turf grass shade the turf grass leaves reducing
the turf plants ability to photosynthesize.
Thus, the full potential to capture sunlight is greatly diminished
when leaves are left on the turf. Additionally, if the leaves get wet, a
microclimate under these leaves promote disease development.
The primary diseases that are favored by this environment are
(also known as pink snow mold or fusarium patch) and powdery
mildew. Thus, blowing or raking those leaves off the turf is an
important fall agronomic practice.
Owning and taking care of a lawn mower is similar to owning and
taking care of a car. If it is neglected, performance will suffer.
CARING FOR YOUR MOWER
It doesn't matter that you've neglected your lawn mower well
into the season. Start caring for it now! First, install fresh spark plugs.
They're inexpensive enough to replace rather than clean or gap.
If your mower has a paper air filter, give that a complete
replacement, too. For foam air filters, buy new mower replacement
foam and soak it oil before installing.
Dull blades harm lawns. Ripped out chunks of grass are highly
vulnerable to a myriad of lawn diseases. Either remove the blade with
a socket wrench, hone it with a file (following the existing cutting
angle), or take it to a lawn-care shop for professional sharpening.
It's just good sense before doing any of this work to run the
mower until it runs completely out of gas. Turn the mower filter-side
up (to prevent clogging) and drain the oil. Be sure to remove the plug
or plug wire to keep the mower from firing up while you're up to your
elbows in machinery.
Be sure the tires are fully inflated – especially with riding
mowers. Under-inflated tires on a riding mower can cause what we, in
our family, usually refer to as crop circles – unevenly mowed patches
that resemble that otherworld phenomenon that some people think
exist.
Tuning Up Your Mower
At the beginning of the mowing season, you should ideally
perform a tune-up on your machine. What does that entail? Here’s a
step-by-step guide:
1. Warm up the engine. Put just enough gas in the gas tank to get
your lawn mower running. Start your engine and let it run until it
runs out of gas.
2. Disconnect the spark plug wire so that the engine can’t start
accidentally.
3. Change the oil using the following procedure:
a. Make sure you purchase the right type of oil for your
replacement oil.
b. Clean off any dirt around the upper part of the oil tank
(where you fill your machine with oil). An old toothbrush
comes in handy for this task. Unscrew and remove the
dipstick, if your oil tank has one.
c. Now locate the lower side of your oil tank – a plug found
on the underside of your machine. You need to drain out
the old oil, and unscrewing this plug will do just that.
Prop up your machine accordingly with blocks, providing a
tilt that will give you access to the plug. Stick an oil pan or
like container under the plug to catch the oil. Ready?
Okay, unscrew the plug (you may need a socket wrench)
by turning counter-clockwise and let that dirty oil pour out.
And I do mean dirty: obviously, you don’t want to have
your “Sunday best” on when performing a lawn mower
tune-up!
d. Screw the drain plug back on using a clockwise motion.
Don’t over-tighten; so that you’ll be able to get it off easily
next time you need a lawn mower tune-up.
Rather than over-tightening when you work on your
machine, it’s better to tighten moderately, and then
periodically check during the mowing season to ensure
that it hasn’t loosened through vibrations.
e. If your machine has an oil filter, replace it as part of the
lawn mower tune-up and clean the gasket with which it
comes into contact.
f. Remove the blocks so that your machine is level again.
g. Fill the oil tank with new oil to the correct level, replacing
cap and dipstick.
h. Refill lawn mower with gas and reconnect spark plug wire.
i. At this point in the lawn mower tune-up, it's time to start
the machine. Let the engine idle and ensure that there are
no oil leaks.
4. Change the spark plugs as follows:
a. Clean the housing around the old spark plug.
b. Remove the old spark plug with socket wrench.
c. Unfortunately, at this point you’ll have to check the blasted
manual again (don’t you just hate that?) What you need to
do is ensure that the new spark plug is gapped the way it’s
supposed to be for your machine.
Just measure the gap and see if the measurement matches
the manufacturer's specifications for your machine. If it
doesn’t match (or if there’s no gap at all), you’ll have to
create/alter the gap.
d. Screw on the new spark plug (not too tight!).
5. Figure out what type of air filter you have: paper or foam.
Paper will be replaced, foam will be cleaned
Changing a Paper Filter:
a. Unscrew the cover and remove the paper air filter.
b. Insert a new filter with the pleat facing out
c. Screw the cover back on.
Cleaning a Foam Filter:
a. Unscrew the cover
b. Remove the air filter unit and discard the old foam.
c. Clean the air filter unit with kerosene.
d. Soak the new piece of foam in clean engine oil. Squeeze
out excess oil using a clean rag.
e. Insert new foam in air filter. Ensure the lip protrudes over
the edge of the unit.
f. Screw the cover back on.
6. Connect the new spark plug and VOILA! You’re done!
Winterizing Your Mower
You should also take precautions at the end of the season to
properly winterize your mower if you live in an area where cold
weather is a problem.
Preparing a lawn mower for winter storage is easy to do with 7
simple steps. Not only will proper winterizing save you money and
frustration, winter maintenance will also reduce emissions next spring.
A lawn mower in good working condition is both safer and better for
your lawn.
Winterizing mowers takes several steps, including draining the
gas, cleaning the mower, replacing air filters, and changing the oil.
When not properly maintained, lawn mowers can not only be
frustrating and costly but also damaging to the environment and
unsafe. Older mowers, especially those that haven’t been properly
maintained, do not perform as well and may be dangerous.
Following these easy maintenance steps for your lawn mower
this winter will save you time and frustration with lawn mower repairs
next spring:
• Drain the gas out of the tank
• Clean the undercarriage with a brush and hot soapy water,
making sure to rinse well
• Sharpen the blade and spray it with a light coating of WD40
• Replace the air filter
• Change the oil
• With the spark plug removed, apply a drop of oil into the
sparkplug hole
• Lube the cables and throttle control
• Store your mower in a sheltered area
Next year, always check the undercarriage and in the discharge
chute and bag for critters that may have decided to use your lawn
mower as a winter get-away. It’ll save both you and the critters from a
lot of discomfort.
This book is about lawn care, but part of having a beautiful lawn
is having an aesthetically pleasing look in front of your house. In the
next section, we’ll give you some tips on landscaping to enhance your
lawn.
LANDSCAPING
Because you’re a homeowner, you want to take a certain pride in
how other people view your home. It’s your castle, your haven, and
your property. You want it to look as good as it can when people pass
by. A great lawn is just a start. You should also include landscaping
along with your lush green lawn to improve the beauty of your home’s
outside.
Landscaping also will raise your property values markedly.
According to many realtors, adding landscaping effects can increase
the value of your home and property by as much as fifteen percent!
You don’t have to go hog wild with your landscaping. And, it
doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. We have some great ideas for
you to try!
The first aspect of landscaping you should address is any
existing trees that are in your yard. Take a good look at those trees
noticing any unsightly limbs or limbs that are looming over your home.
These limbs need to come off not only for looks but for safety as well.
You can do this yourself with a long-arm tree trimmer or hire a
tree service. You’ll be surprised at what an improvement a little tree
trimming can be!
Go to your local nursery or home improvement store and browse
through their plants to see which ones appeal to you. Don’t just look
at flowers, notice trees and bushes as well. Take note of their cost
and names as well as the care that will be required for these plants.
You’ll want to include a mix of shrubs, plants, and flowers to
make your landscaping interesting and pleasant to look at. Here are
some of the more popular choices among homeowners:
Azaleas
Azaleas are flowering bushes that come in many colors. When in
full bloom, these bushes are striking in their beauty. They need to be
planted in a partially shaded area. If you put your azalea bush in full
sun, you’ll need to make sure it has plenty of water.
Butterfly Bush
The best part about this plant is that they will attract all sorts of
butterflies to your yard further improving the beauty you are offering
those around you! They come in blooms of purple, pink, white, or red
and can get as tall as 6 to 12 feet! These bushes adapt best to full
sun.
Roses
So many people love beautiful roses, it’s a good compliment to
your gorgeous green lawn. Color choices are vast and varied as are
the types of bushes you can buy. Some can grow quite tall while
others can remain smaller. Roses can require a lot of attention and
care, but the results are amazingly satisfying. They need about six
hours of full sun per day.
Common English Boxwood Shrub
This is a very common shrub used in yard all over the world.
They have densely packed green leaves and are rounded in shape.
They can be shaped easily with shrub trimmers. They should be
planted in partial shade.
Yews
Yew shrubs can be large or small depending on the variety.
They are needle-bearing evergreens in a deep green color on top
which is lighter underneath. Yews can grow in sun or shade.
Winterberry Holly
This bush is a fun little eye catcher that stays beautiful all
through the winter. They have small, white flowers in the spring and
produce bright red berries that remain into the winter. It can be
grown in full sun or partial shade, and will attract songbirds to your
yard! What a wonderful perk!
Sumac
The sumac is a tree that gives a beautiful performance in the fall
when the leaves change color. There are many varieties, but stay
away from the poison sumac! They need full sun to partial shade.
Hydrangea
Hydrangea bushes are just beautiful additions to any yard. They
have bright green leaves and huge, round flowers in a variety of
colors. They can grow in partial shade.
Spirea
The spirea shrub reaches a height of 2-3' and spreads out 2-3'.
It requires full sun. The shrub's foliage is dark green in summer, but
its fall color is red. In May the plant bears small, white flowers in
clusters.
Forsythia
These early bloomers sport the vibrant yellow flowers that have
become a fixture of spring dreams. Their flowers precede their leaves.
There are different varieties that grow in different ways, so do your
research. They grow best in full sun.
There are many varieties of trees that can make your yard a real
showplace as well. When you buy a tree, however, remember that
you will have to wait a few years before you can enjoy the beauty it
has to offer. Consider these varieties.
Magnolia Tree
Dogwood Tree
Plum Tree
Japanese Maple
Birch Tree
There are also hundreds of types of flowers that you can plant in
beds throughout your yard. Some are annuals, but your best bet is to
go for perennials so you can watch the flowers come up year after
year without having to plant them!
Once you’ve taken a good look around the nursery, don’t buy
anything yet! Go home and look at your yard. Think of the best
places to put the plants you like to achieve an eye-catching display.
Sit down with a piece of paper and map out your yard. Be sure
to check with the utility companies (power, cable, etc.) to find out if
and where there are any buried wires. Make note of where you want
certain plants, bushes, and trees to go. Group together those plants
that share the same care and light considerations.
Then go wild – well within your budget that is. Buy your plants
and trees and install them in your yard.
For bushes and trees, you’ll need to dig a large hole that can
fully accommodate the root ball. Once your tree or bush is in the
ground, mulch around it and apply some fertilizer. After that’s done,
just water and you’re done.
Pay close attention to these plants while they are acclimating
themselves to the ground and spreading their roots to take hold.
Fertilize and water on a regular basis then enjoy your new plants.
Landscaping is about more than just pretty plants, bushes, trees,
and flowers. There are also some other aspects you can add to make
your yard pleasant and beautiful.
Building a deck or porch onto your home is a great way to not
only increase outdoor space for lounging on cool spring nights, but
also to add an interesting focal point. You can easily build your own
deck with a little carpentry know-how. Many home improvement
stores carry deck plans and can even help you with all the supplies
you’ll need.
Another very interesting addition to a yard is a rock waterfall.
BUILDING A WATERFALL
You can easily build your own water garden to add interest to
your yard. The process isn’t very difficult and can be achieved with
little expense. We’re big fans of the waterfall garden, so here’s a step-
by-step guide to building your own waterfall right in your own yard!
First, gather your supplies. Most of these can be found at
hardware stores or discount home stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• 25-30 rocks of various sizes. Try to get some large flat ones too.
• Submersible pump.
• Tubing to run from pump to top of waterfall.
• Large plastic flower pot (or similar) to house tubing.
• Rigid pond liner.
• Carpenter's level.
• Shovel.
• Sand.
• Garden hose.
Your waterfall will run on electricity, so it will need to have its
own outlet for a power source. Ideally, the construction of a waterfall
should be done by a patio, deck, or porch. If you don’t have an
outdoor outlet, one will have to be installed by a certified electrician.
Remove all weeds in the area where you will be digging for your
pond. Make sure the area is level. Measure the liner you have chosen
so you can dig a hole big enough to hold it. Simply invert the liner and
trace around it on the ground. Then start digging!
The depth of the hole should be the same depth as the liner and
the diameter as close to the actual diameter of the liner as possible to
insure a nice, snug fit. If you find your hole is a little bigger than the
liner, just fill in the sides with sand.
Sand will also be used at the bottom of the hole, since sand
floors provide the stability needed to play with the height of preformed
liners. Put about an inch of sand in, so that the top rim of the
preformed liner will stand about an inch above ground level -- reducing
the amount of dirt that will keep falling into your waterfall pond. You'll
be pushing the sand around to get the level of the preformed liner just
right.
Next, place the preformed liner into the hole for the waterfall
pond. Check for levelness by placing a carpenter's level across it --
both front to back and left to right. Depending on the readings you get
from the carpenter's level, it is at this point that you'll have to remove
the preformed liner from the hole and adjust its sandy floor
accordingly.
OK, prep work is out of the way, it’s time to move on to the
structure itself.
Take a look at the rocks you have. The most important rocks
are what might be termed the "spillway" rocks. The spillway rocks are
the ones directly over which the water will cascade.
The spillway rocks should be relatively flat as opposed to rocks
that are more rounded in shape. They should also have sharp, squared
edges. Water will cascade more cleanly over such edges. When rocks
have blunt, gently-curving edges, some of the water tends to follow
that curve and trickle back under the rocks.
The idea behind the selection of spillway rocks for a cascade
design is to choose rocks that are most likely to channel the falling
water in the precise direction in which you want it to go. How you lay
the spillway rocks is also important to this end, as you'll see later.
In addition to seeking out relatively flat rocks with sharp edges,
see if you can't find rocks that are slightly cupped. That is, occasionally
you'll come across rocks that curl up ever so slightly at the edges,
leaving a depression in the middle. The natural channel in such rocks
will be greatly advantageous for the creation of the spillways in your
cascade design. Their raised edges will help keep the water from
deviating where you don't want it namely, behind the rocks.
You'll essentially be building four mini-rock walls around the pot,
to box it in. Make a small trench for the tubing to sit in under the
rocks, so that the rocks don't weigh it down. This will keep the tubing
free, so that you can slide it through the pot up or down, at will. This
gives you the leeway that you need, since you won't know at exactly
what height you'll want the water spouting out until you've finished
laying the rocks.
You may have been wondering what the flower pot in the supply
list is for. You’ll need a pot about 11” high with a drainage hole in the
bottom that matches the diameter of your tubing. The pot functions
as housing for the tubing within the cascading structure for the
waterfall. You could easily substitute something else that might work
better and can use either a terra cotta or plastic variety. The idea is to
have some sort of housing to hold the tubing in place, while you lay up
the rocks all around it. This housing won't show when you're finished:
it will lie hidden at the center of your rock work.
After laying a first course of rocks in the front, cover them with a
sheet of black plastic. Extend one end of the plastic up to the top of
the plastic pot, while tucking the other over the lip of the preformed
pond liner and down into the water. Then disguise the plastic with
rocks, so that it wouldn't be visible in the pond. The plastic serves the
purpose of catching more water than the rocks alone could and funnel
it into the pond. Much of the water that would otherwise be lost to
splashing strikes against this plastic and falls back into the pond,
instead.
Also after laying the first course of rocks in front and just after
laying the black plastic, lay one long, flat rock spanning them all and
sitting right on top of that plastic. The long, flat rock juts out in the
direction of the pond, forming an overhang. It will serve as a shelf for
your first spillway rock, so it will be referred to as the "shelf rock."
Invert the flower pot and thread your tubing through the hole in
its bottom. Place the pot on the ground (still inverted) at the center of
what will be the rock waterfall structure. How far in back of the pond
should this be? Well, that depends on the depth of your rocks. You'll
want the rocks that face the pond to abut it; if possible, they should
even overhang the pond slightly. So if the rocks you'll be using there
are 8" in depth (i.e., front to back), the front side of the pot should be
about 8" back from the edge of the pond.
How long should the tubing be? Leave yourself with a length
that is longer than what you'll need, and trim later as necessary. This
will make your job a lot easier! As to where to run it along the ground,
choose either the left or the right side of the pond and rock waterfall.
As a cosmetic touch at the end of the project, you can go back and
hide it with stones and/or mulch.
Typically, when building rock walls, it's a good idea to stagger
the seams. Of course, these will be very small rock walls, so it's not a
structural concern here. Still, try to do some staggering, if only
because it looks better.
As already mentioned in speaking of rock selection, after the first
course of rocks in the front was down, you put one long flat rock
spanning them all. Why? Because this rock's function is to form an
overhang, it's a key piece in your cascade design. Using it as a shelf,
you'll place your first spillway rock on it, in such a way that the
spillway rock overhangs the pond even further.
Continue laying the 4 walls, until you've reached the height you
desire. Once you're done encasing the pot with the 4 walls, you need
to place 2 longer stones across the top (either front-to-back or left-to-
right) to span the walls. Pull up the tubing to gain more length, if
necessary, and gently sandwich the tubing in between these 2 longer
rocks to hold it in place.
Begin trying to position your first spillway rock on top of your
shelf rock. It should jut out over the pond even further than does the
shelf rock. Ideally, the tip would line up over the middle of the pond,
although this is difficult to achieve. Elevate the first spillway rock in
the back, to achieve better water run-off. You can elevate this or any
rock in the wall by using shims in small flat stones.
Bend the end of the tubing down towards the pond and place
one or more capstones over it. It is under here that the waterfall's
"spout" will rest, so to speak. By "capstone" I mean a stone that will
partially hide the tubing and/or gently press it down against the
second spillway rock. Make sure most of the capstone's weight rests
on the rocks between which the tubing is sandwiched or on shims, so
that the tubing doesn't become flattened. You'll have to play with the
level of the spout, as you begin to fit in the second spillway rock.
Begin trying to position your second spillway rock on top of your
first spillway rock. Again, elevate the rock in the back using a shim, to
achieve a steeper pitch. One way to think of the placement of the 2
spillway rocks is that they're like 2 shingles on a roof. They're both on
a slant, and the top one overlaps the bottom one, forming a
continuous chute down which the water can pour.
The position of the end of the tubing that forms the spout can
now be determined more precisely, as you size it up on the surface of
the second spillway rock. Again, pull to lengthen or shorten your
tubing, as necessary.
You're ready to fill the pond with water, plug in the pump's cord,
and test the flow of your natural rock waterfall. No doubt, you'll have
to make several adjustments before you get everything right. The
objective is to get the water to fall as close as possible to the middle of
the pond, so that you can minimize water-loss from the splashing that
will incur.
There is some compromise involved with your cascade design:
greater height equals greater visual impact, but greater height also
equals greater water-loss as the splashes will be more violent. Another
consideration on height: keep your natural rock waterfall in proportion
with the pond. A general rule of thumb would be, the smaller the
pond, the shorter the rock waterfall.
The entire structure is built with the intent to minimize water
loss, but regardless of how well you do at minimizing water-loss, it is
prudent to check the level of your waterfall pond water periodically.
Should the pond go dry due to water-loss, you'll burn out the pump.
Consequently, you must turn off the pump overnight or when
leaving your property. Of course, if you're frugal, you'll unplug the
pump when you're not around anyhow, to save money on electricity.
Since this water feature is intended only for decoration and for
relaxation (it's not a fish pool), there's no reason to keep it running if
you're not there to enjoy it.
CONCLUSION
Having a beautiful lawn is more beneficial than the aesthetic
feeling of your home. Acting like a gigantic sponge, lawns absorb all
types of airborne pollutants such as soot, dust and carbon dioxide, as
well as noise. Less weeds mean less weed pollen, a relief of those with
allergies.
Lawns help to improve water quality. Water quality gets a boost
from a common plant we see everyday-the grass plant. According to
experts, a well-managed lawn helps prevent runoff and is a natural
water fiber.
A healthy turf can help prevent runoff and soil erosion. In fact,
turf promotes high populations of microorganisms in the thatch layer
and topsoil. These microorganisms break down impurities making turf
an excellent water filter.
Healthy lawns can have a cooling effect on your entire
neighborhood! The front lawns of a block of eight average houses
have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning-enough to
cool 16 average houses.
On a hot summer day, grass can be 10-14 degrees cooler than
exposed soil and as much as 30 degrees cooler than concrete or
asphalt. And it also provides oxygen. A 50' x 50' well-maintained grass
area will create enough oxygen to meet the needs of a family of four
every day.
A good lawn also increases property value. A great lawn has
more than just health value. Appraisers estimate that a well-
landscaped and maintained lawn adds 7% to the value of residential
property. A recent Gallup Survey concluded that a 15% increase in
selling price can be realized when the home is nicely landscaped.
Your lawn is your own little piece of the world – one that you can
make as beautiful as your mind can imagine. A beautiful, green lawn
can be so satisfying to the homeowner. Take all the steps in this book
to insure that your little piece of the world makes you happy!
Additional Resources
GreenLawnSecrets - If You Have A Lawn, Then You, Too, Can Have
This FREE 7-Part Mini-Course On How To Have A Healthy Green Lawn
Even If You Know Nothing About Lawn Care...
Your Perfect Lawn - Step By Step Guide On Building And Maintaining A
Perfect Garden Lawn
How To Build Auto Lawn Sprinklers - Build Your Own Automatic Lawn
Sprinkler System
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